New York Giants 28 – Philadelphia Eagles 23

Overview

This was an incredibly important victory for the New York Giants franchise. Not only did it improve the team’s overall record to a respectable 5-3 with eight games to go, but it improved the division record to 2-1. Perhaps just as significantly, it began removing a huge mental barrier that this team cannot beat the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles out-gained the Giants in most offensive categories. And the turnover battle was equal. The difference in this game was Philadelphia leaving 12 points off of the score board with one blocked field goal and three failed 4th-down conversion attempts in field-goal range.

It wasn’t a pretty win and it should not have been as tight as it was late in the game, but a win over the Eagles is always a beautiful thing. Enjoy it.

Giants on Offense

It was really hit or miss for the Giants offensively on Sunday. The good news is the Giants reached their highest single-game point total of the season (28) with four touchdown passes. They converted both of the Eagles early turnovers into touchdowns off of the short field. The Giants had six plays of 25 yards or more.

The problems were the Giants had only two drives of more than 31 yards. New York was limited to 16 first downs, 302 total net yards, and 54 net yards rushing. The Giants were 4-of-13 (31 percent) on third down and 0-of-1 on 4th down. While the team was perfect in the red zone, it only reached the red zone once.

What I was most impressed with was that the two times the Eagles scored momentum-shifting touchdowns that cut the Giants lead to four points, the Giants responded with long touchdown drives. That was huge.

Quarterback

When your starting quarterback throws four touchdown passes, it’s a good day. And both of Eli’s interceptions were fluky. What I liked most about Elis performance was he seemed far less distracted about the rush. He subtly moved around in the pocket to buy an extra half second or so. This gave him and his receivers a chance to make plays down the field. Manning finished the game 22-of-36 for 257 yards and QB passer rating of 96.6. His worst play was missing a wide-open Odell Beckham deep on 4th-and-3 late in the 2nd quarter.

Running Backs

These guys simply can’t get untracked. Of the team’s 61 offensive snaps, the backs carried the ball 22 times for 58 yards (2.6 yards per carry). While Rashad Jennings (11 carries for 26 yards) continues to get his touches, what is far more interesting is the continued increase in the use of Paul Perkins (11 carries for 32 yards). Bobby Rainey and Orleans Darkwa didn’t have a single touch as a runner or receiver. Both Jennings (3 catches for 13 yards) and Perkins (3 catches for 15 yards) were involved in the passing game.

Wide Receivers

The numbers were not big, with one significant exception: touchdown catches (4). No receiver had more than four catches and no receiver had more than 46 yards. But Odell Beckham (2 touchdowns), Roger Lewis (1), and Sterling Shepard (1) all put points on the board. Beckham was targeted 10 times, but only had four receptions. Yet the two touchdown catches were both excellent plays. He also drew a pass interference penalty. Manning’s first “interception” was a perfectly-thrown ball to Beckham that was torn away from while falling to the ground. Beckham also had two drops and a false start. Lewis and and Shepard so badly beat their defenders with sweet moves that they were wide open in the end zone. Cruz was seeing reduced snaps in the game before he sprained his ankle. Lewis dropped back-to-back passes in the 2nd quarter, including one that might have gone for a 79-yard score.

Tight Ends

Will Tye started for Larry Donnell, who was benched. Jerell Adams also continued to see his snaps increased. Tye was targeted seven times (second most after Beckham) and had four catches for 33 yards. He had a nice, physical 13-yard catch-and-run. Adams surprisingly caught 3 passes for 24 yards. He was flagged with a false start and dropped a ball after being hit. Donnell never saw an offensive snap.

Offensive Line

Against one of the NFL’s best pass rushing teams, the Giants offensive line only allowed one sack and two QB hits. But run blocking remained a headache as the Giants backs only ran the ball for 58 yards and 2.6 yards per carry. Justin Pugh left the game with a knee injury and was replaced by Brett Jones, who did an admirable job given the circumstances. Ereck Flowers was flagged twice (holding, false start) and John Jerry once (holding). The sack was given up by the right side of the line – Bobby Hart and Jerry.

Giants on Defense

It was an up-and-down day for the defense as well. The good news is the defense set the tone early in the first quarter with two huge interceptions that set up touchdowns and a quick 14-0 advantage. The Eagles were held to 3-of-15 (20 percent) on 3rd down and 1-of-4 (25 percent) on 4th down. And the three 4th-down stops occurred in or near the red zone.

The bad news is the Giants gave up way too many big plays against an offense that had been struggling to make the big play. The Eagles had six plays over 20 yards, including four plays of 30 yards or more. Philadelphia generated 443 yards of offense (347 passing, 96 rushing) with five drives over 50 yards.

Defensive Line

The defensive line did OK. Eagles backs gained 100 yards (the quarterback had -4 rushing yards) and Carson Wentz was only sacked once and hit three times by the defensive line. What the line did do well is play disciplined football against the read-option. Olivier Vernon had 5 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 tackle for a loss. Jason Pierre-Paul was credited with 5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 QB hits, and 1 pass defense. For years, JPP had issues with the read-option, but on Sunday he was a stud against it, including a 4th-down stop. While the Giants didn’t touch Wentz much, they did get some decent pressure on him at times up the middle.

Linebackers

Keenan Robinson (10 tackles, 1 pass defense) continues to stand out. Jonathan Casillas only had 3 tackles, but he did hit Wentz on a blitz and defensed a pass. Devon Kennard had 3 tackles and hit Wentz as well. Kelvin Sheppard played 20 snaps but only got in on one tackle. The good news was the Giants did a great job of defending RB Darren Sproles as receiver (3-of-9 targets for only 14 yards). But the coverage on the tight ends was not good. Zach Ertz caught all eight targets thrown his way for 97 yards. Trey Burton chipped in with three more catches for 55 yards. That’s 152 yards receiving for the tight ends! B.J. Goodson looked very stiff in the open field in coverage against the tight end.

Defensive Backs

WR Nelson Agholor was held to 4 catches for 41 yards. Jake Matthews (6 catches for 88 yards) had the more productive day. Eli Apple struggled and was benched. He gave up a 32-yard completion to TE Trey Burton on Philadelphia’s first scoring drive. Apple also lost contain on the Eagles 8-yard touchdown run that cut the score to 14-10. In the 3rd quarter, he was flagged for being offsides and then missed a tackle on a short completion that turned into a 23-yard gain down to the 3-yard line. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie gave up a 33-yard completion to Matthews late in the 2nd quarter, but otherwise played well. Janoris Jenkins pretty much shut out his opponent, but he had a sure interception slip through his hands and was flagged with defensive holding.

Leon Hall was surprisingly declared inactive before the game.

Landon Collins is in the process of making quite a name for himself. He had another big game with 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 interception, and 1 pass defense. Andrew Adams also had his best game as rookie with 9 tackles, 1 interception, and 2 pass defenses. His finger-tip deflection near the end of the 1st quarter saved a touchdown. These two set the tone early with their two picks. Nat Berhe returned from concussion, only played a few defensive snaps, and gave up a 58-yard deep pass to WR Bryce Treggs. He did make a sure tackle to prevent a 1st down on 3rd-and-8.

The play that bothered me was the incredibly soft coverage on 4th-and-9 where Matthews was left wide open for an easy 25-yard pitch-and-catch. I have no idea what the Giants were doing there.

Giants on Special Teams

The Giants special teams almost cost the Giants this game. Darren Sproles had a 66-yard punt return that was inches away from being an 81-yard touchdown. Keenan Robinson’s shoe-string tackle, and a 4th-down stand, saved seven points. Sproles’ other return went for 10 yards as Brad Wing averaged 46 yards (35 net) on seven punts. Kickoff coverage was decent with 3-of-5 kickoffs resulting in touchbacks.

The good news is the Giants blocked another field goal, with Jason Pierre-Paul firing through the middle. Janoris Jenkins recovered but almost gave the ball right back to the Eagles (Mark Herzlich recovered the loose ball). Paul Perkins almost blocked a punt too.

Dwayne Harris returned one punt for 10 yards and two kickoffs for a total of 30 yards. He made a very poor decision to return the last kickoff out of the endzone. This pinned the Giants back at the 12-yard line.

NEW YORK GIANTS 28 – PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 23…
The New York Giants defeated division rival Philadelphia Eagles 28-23 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. With the victory, the Giants improved their overall record to 5-3 and their division record to 2-1.

The Eagles out-gained the Giants in first downs (21 to 16), total net yards (443 to 302), net yards rushing (96 to 54), and net yards passing (364 to 257). Both teams turned the football over twice. But the Giants blocked a field goal and also stopped the Eagles three times on 4th down, twice within the red zone.

The Giants took a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter after two Eagles turnovers. After the Giants started the game with a three-and-out, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz’s second pass was intercepted by safety Landon Collins, setting up the Giants at the Eagles 31-yard line. On 2nd-and-5, quarterback Eli Manning hit wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. over the middle for a 26-yard catch-and-run touchdown. The Giants got the ball right back again when safety Andrew Adams intercepted an overthrown Wentz pass and returned it to the Eagles 30-yard line. On 3rd-and-10, Manning hit wide receiver Roger Lewis, Jr. for a 30-yard touchdown.

The Eagles mounted their first scoring drive on the ensuing possession by driving 59 yards in 10 plays to set up a 34-yard field goal. After two Giants punts and one Eagles drive being stopped on 4th-and-2, the Eagles were able to strike quickly with a 3-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, aided by a 58-yard pass. The Giants now only led 14-10.

The Giants responded with a quick strike of their own. A 46-yard pass by Manning to wide receiver Victor Cruz set up the Giants at the Eagles 9-yard line. Two plays later, Manning hit Beckham for a second touchdown and the Giants extended their advantage to 21-10.

The Giants and Eagles exchanged punts with the Eagles gaining the advantage after a 66-yard punt return by running back Darren Sproles set the Eagles up at the Giants 15-yard line. But Sproles was stuffed on 4th-and-1 at the Giants 6-yard line. After another New York punt, another Eagles scoring threat was stymied when defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul blocked a 40-yard field goal with just over a minute to play before halftime. At the intermission, the Giants led 21-10.

Philadelphia tightened the game against on their first possession of the second half by driving 70 yards in six plays for a touchdown that cut the score to 21-17. New York responded with a 10-play, 75-yard effort that culminated with a 32-yard touchdown from Manning to wide receiver Sterling Shepard. The Giants now led 28-17.

The Eagles and Giants exchanged punts before the Eagles mounted a 14-play, 80-yard march that resulted in a 26-yard field goal early in the 4th quarter. Giants 28 – Eagles 20. The Eagles got the ball back after Manning’s pass intended for Beckham was intercepted at the Philadelphia 40-yard line. Both teams then exchanged punts again before the Eagles cut the Giants advantage to 28-23 after an 8-play, 26-yard drive set up a 38-yard field goal with less than four minutes to play.

The Giants offense was able to pick up one first down before Manning was intercepted on 3rd-and-4, setting up the Eagles on the Giants 34-yard line with 1:48 to play. A 17-yard pass moved the ball to the Giants 17, but the game ended with four straight Wentz incompletions.

Offensively, Manning finished 22-of-36 for 257 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. No receiver had more than 50 yards but Beckham (2), Lewis, and Shepard all had touchdown receptions. The running game struggled with Paul Perkins gaining 32 yards on 11 carries and Rashad Jennings 26 yards on 11 carries.

Defensively, Landon Collins led the defense with 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, and 1 interception. Defensive end Olivier Vernon was credited with the team’s other sack. Andrew Adams had the other interception.

Game Preview: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants, November 6, 2016

THE STORYLINE:
This is one of the most important games of the season for the Giants and Eagles. Both teams are 4-3. The Giants are 1-1 in the NFC East while the Eagles are 0-2 in the division. I’ve discussed it ad nauseam – the Giants have failed to make the playoffs in recent years, and Tom Coughlin was fired, because the Giants could not beat the teams in their division, especially the Eagles and Cowboys. The Eagles have beaten the Giants an absurd 13-of-16 times and four in a row. While one could argue that the Eagles were a better team in the last eight years, they were not that much better. The Eagles are in the Giants heads. And everyone knows it. Until the Giants grow a set and punch the Eagles in the mouth, this trend will continue.

THE INJURY REPORT:

QB Ryan Nassib (elbow) – questionable

RB Bobby Rainey (calf) – questionable

WR Odell Beckham, Jr. (hip) – probable

RT Marshall Newhouse (calf) – questionable

DE Kerry Wynn (concussion) – out

S Darian Thompson (foot) – out

S Nat Berhe (concussion) – questionable

LS Zak DeOssie (ankle) – probable

NEW YORK GIANTS ON OFFENSE:
The Giants have faced a series of good defenses – Vikings, Ravens, Packers, Rams – and will face another on Sunday. Under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, the Eagles have impressively roared to 8th in the NFL in overall defense (20th against the run, 5th against the pass).

“Their defense is a hard charging unit, their front four leads them,” said Ben McAdoo. “They’re deep and talented along the defensive line. Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox and company are playing very well upfront for them. Athletically, their linebackers can run and they can hit. Their secondary had a lot of position flexibility. They have some guys that can play some different spots, with Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod and Jaylen Watkins.”

As McAdoo, points out, this is a very good defensive line with ends Connor Barwin (who has given the Giants fits) and Graham, plus a very strong interior duo of Cox and Bennie Logan. And the Eagles are deep on the defensive line and will rotate in fresh reinforcements frequently. The Eagles are second in the league in sacks (22). On paper, this looks like a bad match-up for the Giants given how New York’s offensive front has been playing. If the Giants offensive line can rise to the occasion, the Giants can do damage running the ball and attacking a secondary – that while ranked 5th – has given up some big plays.

To me, other than the offensive line, the big key to success for the Giants in this game is the Eli Manning to Odell Beckham connection. When the Giants last had the Eagles number, Plaxico Burress was the Eagle-killer. Odell Beckham has to become the new Eagle-killer. Eli and Odell have to click and connect for the Giants to win this game. Eli is going to have to play with more toughness and courage in the pocket and elevate his overall game. This is why he is being paid the big bucks. He has to out-play his rookie counterpart.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON DEFENSE:
The Eagles are 28th in overall offense (16th rushing, 29th passing) but 10th in scoring. Given the fact that the Giants are likely going to have issues on offense against Philadelphia’s defense, the Giants likewise need their defense to bring it on Sunday. Carson Wentz (66 percent completion rate) is having a remarkable first season, but he is still a rookie playing in his eighth NFL game. The Eagles offensive line isn’t what it once was and comes into this game banged up. The Eagles receiving corps – while respectable – doesn’t scare people.

“Offensively, they’re a West Coast ball control outfit,” said McAdoo. “That’s their foundation. They use personnel groups and creativity to try and create confusion for the defense. Carson Wentz is a big, strong, athletic quarterback who has acclimated well to the pro game. They’re deep in experience along the offensive line. Ryan Mathews is their feature ball carrier and he can carry the mail. They have a trio of play makers in the pass game, how they like to deal the ball, with Darren Sproles, Zach Ertz and Jordan Mathews; they feature those three guys inside.”

The good news for the Giants is that they finally have the added athleticism at linebacker to deal with a back like Sproles and a tight end like Ertz. The bad news is Darian Thompson is out (possibly for the season) and the Giants will have to play with the injury-prone Nat Berhe or Andrew Adams at free safety. But overall, I like the match-ups for the Giants in this game. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Janoris Jenkins, and Eli Apple should be able to shut down the wide receivers, allowing the linebackers and Landon Collins to focus on the backs/tight ends. Wentz has not been taking many deep shots down the field, and I expect the Giants pass rush to also force him to dump the ball off short for much of this contest.

The Eagles try not to tax Wentz. Giants should be able to stop the run. Matthews is the starter, but Sproles is the bigger threat as a runner and receiver. Wentz’s go-to guys are Matthews (36 catches), Sproles (22 catches), and Nelson Agholor (21 catches). If the Giants can keep Sproles and Ertz in check, the Eagles should struggle to move the football and Wentz will be in trouble. Keenan Robinson and Jonathan Casillas will be under the spotlight in coverage.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
Over the past few seasons, the Eagles have fielded one of the NFL’s best special teams units. And unfortunately, their special teams prowess has been a major factor in a number of Giants defeats. Wendell Smallwood (kickoffs) and Darren Sproles (punts) are very dangerous returners. The Eagles are very good in covering returns.

FROM THE COACH’S MOUTH:Offensive Coordinator Mike Sullivan on the Eagles defense: “They’re able to apply quite a bit of pressure just with their front four and that makes it a challenge.”

Head Coach Ben McAdoo on the Giants offense: “Some say that the points are in the passing game. I believe the points are in balanced football. I believe in running the football and having things come off of the run game. That makes for a good red zone, green zone offense. We need to keep running the ball and to be balanced. We need to be aggressive with what we’re doing in the passing game. The most important thing about it is we need to get down there (the red zone) more. We’re not down there enough.”

THE FINAL WORD:
This should be a defensive struggle with the outcome possibly being decided by turnovers and special teams plays. The latter favors the Eagles. But if the Giants offensive line can give Eli some time, I like Odell Beckham to have a big game in this spot.

Philadelphia Eagles 35 – New York Giants 30

Overview

My apologies for this game review being three weeks late. But better late than never and now that we unofficially know that the Giants’ offensive, defensive, and special teams systems will remain in place in 2016, what transpired against the Philadelphia Eagles on January 3, 2016 does have more meaning.

The regular-season finale was a crappy end to one of the team’s crappiest seasons in its history. Let’s painfully – but briefly – rehash what transpired:

Will Beatty tears his pectoral muscle in May and never returns, causing a domino effect on the offensive line at tackle. Jason Pierre-Paul permanently disfigures himself on July 4th, misses half the season, and returns to play one-handed football. Giants safeties start dropping like flies before the season even starts. Victor Cruz’s “the return” never happens. Jon Beason breaks himself again. The Giants also lose Johnathan Hankins, Owa Odighizuwa, Devon Kennard, Prince Amukamara, Geoff Schwartz, Larry Donnell, and Daniel Fells for much of the season.

For the most part, the Giants play competitive football in 2015, but keep painfully losing in the final seconds due to questionable decisions, red zone ineptitude, bad defense, and untimely special teams mistakes. The Giants lost the opener in Dallas with a red zone meltdown combined with allowing Tony Romo to drive the length of the field in the final seconds. A red zone turnover against the Falcons and another defensive collapse left the Giants at 0-2. The Giants rebound with a three-game winning streak before being blown out by the Eagles. Dwayne Harris haunts his former team as the Giants defeat the Cowboys at home. Eli Manning throws six touchdown passes against the Saints but the Giants still lose.

Nevertheless, the Giants beat the Buccaneers to improve their record to 5-4. They are in first place in the terrible NFC East with seven games left to play. The 2-6 Cowboys and 4-4 Eagles are wounded and fading. The Redskins are 3-5. Even with the Patriots looming next, with Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, and Odell Beckham, the Giants are the favorites to win the NFC East.

But in a far-too-common occurrence during the Tom Coughlin era, the Giants collapse in the second half of the season. They only win one of their last seven games. The Giants have the Patriots on the ropes but Beckham and Landon Collins can’t hold onto the football. With the division on the line, the Giants fail to show up in Washington. Coughlin’s eschews a late field goal against the Jets who win in overtime as Josh Brown misses a game-tying field goal. A heroic comeback against the Panthers falls short as the defense collapses late again. New York gets destroyed in the Minnesota cold.

Which brings us to Week 17. Both the Giants and Eagles are 6-9. In their last seven games, the Eagles have lost five contests and been badly beaten by the Buccaneers (45-17), Lions (45-14), and Cardinals (40-17). The Eagles are 15th in offense and 30th in defense. Chip Kelly is fired before the finale. On the other hand, it is widely speculated both inside and outside of the locker room that this will be Tom Coughlin’s last game as head coach of the Giants. There is talk about sending him out on a high note with an inspired effort against a team that has owned the Giants the last eight years.

Instead an Eagles team with nothing to play for soundly beat the Giants 35-30. Coughlin is left with one last sour memory as the Eagles have now beaten the Giants 13 times in the last 16 match-ups. Once again, bad defense and red zone inefficiency lead to defeat.

As the third Giants’ head coach to win two NFL Championships, Tom Coughlin is undeniably one of the top three coaches in franchise history. But in the end, he was done in by his inability to defeat his divisional rivals in recent years. In addition to the Eagles dominance over the Giants, the Cowboys have defeated the Giants six out of the last eight games. And although the Giants had fared much better against the Redskins, the Giants came up woefully short in both 2012 and 2015 against Washington with the division on the line.

Giants on Offense

The Giants accrued 30 points, 30 first downs, and 502 total net yards (208 rushing and 294 passing) against the Eagles. New York had 81 offensive snaps to Philadelphia’s 65. The Giants won the time of possession battle 31:54 to 28:06 and were 7-of-15 (47 percent on third down). With numbers like that, you would expect a victory. But the team’s defense was again poor. And offensively, the Giants were only 2-of-5 (40 percent) in the red zone. The biggest error of the game came late in the 3rd quarter. With the Giants up 27-21 and driving at the Eagles’ 14-yard line, Eli Manning was sacked. The ball was knocked out of his hands and returned 83 yards for a touchdown. It was at least a 10-point swing in the game, and possibly a 14- or 15-point swing.

After punting on their opening possession, the Giants scored on each of their four remaining drives of the first half with two field goals and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, the first field goal drive stalled after the Giants faced a 1st-and-goal from the 5-yard line. The second stalled after facing a 2nd-and-5 from the Eagles’ 7-yard line. The second half was not as kind as the Giants scored twice (touchdown and field goal), punted twice, had the fumble returned for a touchdown, and ended the game with a turnover on downs. There was one head-scratching call (or audible) on 3rd-and-10 in the 3rd quarter when a draw play was called.

Quarterback

Eli Manning had a solid day, completing 24-of-43 passes (56 percent) for 302 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. His fumble that was returned for a touchdown was probably the difference in the game but that play was more on Ereck Flowers than him. Manning did miss a wide open Myles White in the end zone on the second drive that ended with a field goal. He also missed a wide open Odell Beckham in the 4th quarter on an errant throw and threw into double coverage a few plays later on a deep pass intended for Randle.

Running Backs

Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, and Shane Vereen had the type of day that the Giants dreamed they would have on a regular basis in 2015. Jennings carried the ball 27 times for an inspiring 170 yards (6.3 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Williams chipped in with 26 yards on five carries (5.2 yards per carry) and Vereen 12 yards on four carries (3.0 yards per carry). Vereen also caught 6-of-8 passes thrown in his direction for 72 yards (12.0 yard average). He was a big factor on the team’s second TD drive when he ran for four yards on 3rd-and-2 and then caught three passes for 41 yards on three consecutive plays. But obviously the story was Jennings who ran with toughness and purpose. Remarkably, half his 863 yards on the season came in the last four games.

Wide Receivers

Aside from one big touchdown play to Rueben Randle, the wide receivers were surprisingly quiet against a secondary that they should have destroyed. One game after his NFL suspension, Odell Beckham was held to 5-of-7 passes thrown in his direction for just 54 yards. He was also flagged with a false start. Randle caught a 45-yard touchdown pass but was held to three receptions on his other six targets for just 34 yards. He lazily couldn’t come down with a 3rd-and-7 pass on the opening drive. Hakeem Nicks caught just 2-of-4 targets for 24 yards and Myles White did not have a catch despite three passes thrown in his direction. Nicks had a chance to be a hero late in the game but dropped a deep pass from Manning on the last desperate drive.

Tight Ends

Will Tye finished his surprising year on a strong note with five catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Tye’s run blocking is noticeably improving as well, though he did miss one block that led to a 2-yard loss.

Offensive Line

From left to right, the offensive line was Ereck Flowers, Dallas Reynolds, Weston Richburg, John Jerry, and Justin Pugh. Adam Gettis also saw some time at left guard. The good news was the 208 yards rushing. And the line looked sharp on a number of pulling efforts, especially by Pugh and Reynolds. Richburg also stood out with his effort to make an initial block, then come off his man and engage a second defender. The bad news was that pass protection was shaky at times. Eli Manning was only officially hit four times, but two of those were sacks. The line had pass protection issues on the first drive as Flowers and Reynolds gave up back-to-back pass pressures. Then Jerry was flagged for holding on a play where Manning was pressured. Early in the 2nd quarter, on 3rd-and-7, Flowers gave up the first sack when he was beat by an outside rush and Reynolds blocked his man into Flowers. Of course, the decisive play of the game was the gimpy Flowers being beat for a sack-forced fumble that resulted in at least a 10-point swing. The line did a poor job of protecting Manning on the last desperate drive as both tackles and Reynolds gave up pressure.

Giants on Defense

The NFL’s 32nd-ranked defense played terribly. The Eagles scored three offensive touchdowns on their five first-half possessions as they easily drove 80 yards in five plays, 85 yards in six plays, and 80 yards in 16 plays. While the Giants did force two punts and caused a fumble in the second half, the defense also allowed a 13-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that for all intents and purposes put the game away. The Giants made the inconsistent Sam Bradford look like an all-star as he completed 30-of-38 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Zach Ertz caught all nine passes thrown in his direction for an astounding 152 yards receiving (16.9 yards per catch). Wide receiver Jordan Matthews caught two touchdown passes. Running backs DeMarco Murray and Darren Sproles carried the ball 15 times for 93 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and two touchdowns.

Most damning of all? The Giants’ “defense” (and I use that term loosely) allowed the Eagles to convert 10-of-13 third down opportunities, a 77 percent success rate that was the highest by a Giants’ opponent since 1970.

What’s worrisome moving forward is how uninspired and confused Steve Spagnuolo’s defenders looked. Are there talent issues? You bet. But the players on the field didn’t appear to play with much effort and there were too many easy plays for the Eagles simply because defenders were out of position. For example, there was one 3rd-and-1 play where the Eagles had two wideouts split to the left with only one defensive back in the picture. It was an easy uncontested pitch-and-catch for a first down. The defense also came up small again at the end of a game, allowing the Eagles to pick up two first downs, 37 yards, and run almost three minutes off of the clock after the Giants had cut the score to 35-30 with 4:30 left to play.

Defensive Line

The starters up front were Jason Pierre-Paul at left end, Cullen Jenkins at left tackle, Jay Bromley at right tackle, and Robert Ayers at right end. Ayers played a strong game with 7 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for a loss, and 2 quarterback hits. Sadly, no other Giant officially hit Sam Bradford. Pierre-Paul had six tackles and two pass defenses, Bromley five tackles, and Jenkins three tackles. As reserves, George Selvie chipped in with two tackles and a fumble recovery. He was flagged with a neutral zone infraction. Montori Hughes had two tackles and one tackle for a loss, but was easily blocked on Murray’s 54-yard TD run. Hughes did flash on a few occasions with his hustle in run defense. Pierre-Paul was successfully blocked on Darren Sproles’ 6-yard touchdown run as Sproles ran around him. JPP did bat a pass up into the air that was intercepted by Jonathan Casillas, setting up the Giants’ first touchdown drive on a short field. Jenkins was easily blocked on a 3rd-and-5 draw play that picked up a first down on the Eagles’ third touchdown drive of the first half.

Linebackers

The Giants started in the nickel with Jasper Brinkley and Jonathan Casillas starting at linebacker. Brinkley finished the game with 9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, and 1 forced fumble. Casillas had 7 tackles and 1 interception. Others spotted in the game included Mark Herzlich (1 tackle) and Nico Johnson (0 tackles). The Giants linebackers looked slow, unathletic, and lethargic in coverage. The Eagles’ game plan was obvious and successful. Alternate throws to the middle of the field with short passes to the outside perimeter. Force the linebackers and safeties to run to the ball and make plays. Let this one astounding fact sink in: Bradford was 21-of-23 for 243 yards throwing to the tight ends and running backs!!!

Casillas was slow to react to receivers out of the backfield and to fill the gap on Murray’s 54-yard touchdown run. Johnson got faked on a misdirection boot to his side. Later, Zack Ertz (who caught all nine passes in his direction for 152 yards) was left all alone on a 60-yard gain. Casillas did not run with Ertz and there seemed to be confusion between defensive backs Landon Collins and Prince Amukamara on the play when the tight ends crossed. Brinkley couldn’t stay with Ertz on a 19-yard completion on 2nd-and-11 down to the Giants’ 3-yard line. Brinkley did make a number of nice plays in the 3rd quarter, including the forced fumble, an aggressive tackle in the hole against the RB, and then a sure tackle after a short pass. Casillas was beat by TE Brent Celek for 24 yards on 3rd-and-5 on the Eagles’ last touchdown drive. Both Casillas and Brinkley looked awful in coverage on this drive, including Brinkley embarrassingly whiffing on an open-field tackle attempt that set up the Eagles at the Giants’ 3-yard line.

Defensive Backs

The Giants started the game with Landon Collins and the recently re-signed and gimpy Brandon Meriweather at safety, Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie outside at cornerback, and Trevin Wade playing nickel corner. Trumaine McBride was forced to play safety after Meriweather injured his knee. The only defensive back with a pass breakup was Wade with just one.

The safeties were just dreadful in coverage as indicated by the receiving productivity of the tight ends. In addition, Meriweather was caught flat-footed on Murray’s 54-yard TD run. He also made a pathetic, flailing effort to tackle Ertz on his 60-yard catch-and-run. Collins looked lost out there at times. He got blocked and couldn’t make a play on Sproles’ 6-yard TD run. He later badly missed a tackle on Ertz too. On the Eagles’ third touchdown drive, on 3rd-and-10, Collins was cleanly picked off of Ertz, resulting in an easy first down. Collins was beat again by Ertz for 21 yards in the 3rd quarter. He gave up two more catches to Ertz late in the 4th quarter when the Eagles were running out the clock.

Wade got beat deep on 3rd-and-3 by Jordan Matthews who thankfully dropped a perfect pass, leading to the Eagles only punt of the first half. Only two Eagles’ wide receivers caught passes and only one caught more than two passes. The wideouts were limited to a combined 11 catches for 77 yards. But Matthews caught two touchdowns. One of those was also against Wade, who struggled at times with Matthews out of the slot. He did knock away one pass intended for Matthews on one of the Giants only three third down stops. Jayron Hosley was beaten easily by Matthews for his second touchdown on 1st-and-goal from the 3-yard line. Rodgers-Cromartie and Amukamara were never really tested.

Giants on Special Teams

Josh Brown finished a strong season 3-of-3 on his field goal kicks, including a 48 yarder. Five of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks. The other two kickoff returns went for only 24 yards combined. Brad Wing punted three times with all three punts downed inside the 20-yard line, including at the 2-, 3- and 9-yard lines. None were returned. All six Eagles kickoffs resulted in touchbacks with no returns. The only punt returned was by Odell Beckham for five yards.

TOM COUGHLIN RESIGNING OR RETIRING? BEN MCADOO NEXT COACH?…
According to FOXSports and one ESPN report, Head Coach Tom Coughlin is expected to to resign or retire. Coughlin’s extended family was on hand at today’s game. ESPN is reporting that Coughlin asked his family members to attend, although he did not reveal his plans to them as of Saturday night. All 11 of Coughlin’s grandchildren were on hand wearing “Coughlin Crew” sweatshirts.

“The frustration continues,” said Coughlin after the team’s 35-30 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. “You’ve got your questions prepared for what direction I’m going in. I’m not going to answer anything about that. The season just ended, there will be time for that. We will get into that discussion… I’m going to give myself a little bit of time. I’m sure we’ll talk with ownership and then we’ll go from there… No one has decided anything.”

When asked why his family was on the sidelines, Coughlin responded, “What happens is fortunately we play at home and the family gets together not on Christmas because people have to visit relatives and in-laws and things like that, and so this is the weekend that our group collects. But it was really neat to see it. The kids were all dressed up in a sweatshirt with their name on the back, and I don’t know, it was neat.”

Another ESPN report said General Manager Jerry Reese met with Coughlin before the game and told Coughlin “he loved him and always would but that he didn’t know what would happen.” The same ESPN source said Coughlin “has mulled the possibility of walking away on his own, but he’s concerned about the fate of his assistant coaches and wants to know what will become of them before he does that.”

Team ownership will reportedly meet on Monday to discuss Coughlin’s future.

Jay Glazer of FOXSports says that the Giants like Ben McAdoo, the team’s current offensive coordinator, to replace Coughlin.

Tom Coughlin met Sunday morning with Giants GM Jerry Reese, who told him he didn't know what was going to happen.

KEVIN ABRAMS TO INTERVIEW WITH LIONS…
New York Giants Assistant General Manager Kevin Abrams will reportedly interview with the Detroit Lions for their general manager vacancy. Former New York Giants General Manager Ernie Accorsi (1998-2007) is serving as a consultant for the Lions and he has ties to Abrams.

GIANTS PICK 10th IN 2016 NFL DRAFT…
The New York Giants will pick 10th in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

2016 OPPONENTS SET…
The New York Giants 2016 opponents have been set. The Giants will play:

Home:

Dallas Cowboys

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Away:

Dallas Cowboys

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

St. Louis Rams (in London)

Cleveland Browns

Pittsburgh Steelers

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 35 – NEW YORK GIANTS 30…
The New York Giants were defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles 35-30 in the regular-season finale on Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium. With the loss, the Giants finished the second 6-10 for the second year in a row. The team also finished in third place in the NFC East for the third year in a row. The Giants have lost 13 of the last 16 against the Eagles, including four in a row. The Giants lost six of their last seven games after starting the year 5-4.

A quick synopsis of the game was that the Eagles got off to a quick 14-3 lead in the 1st quarter until the Giants closed the gap in the 2nd quarter with 17 points as the Eagles scored another touchdown. At halftime, New York trailed 20-21. The Giants scored another touchdown in the 3rd quarter to take a 27-21 advantage and were poised to take a two-score lead until a deflected pass was intercepted and returned 83 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles tacked on another touchdown in the 4th quarter while the Giants added a 48-yard field goal. Down by five points, the Giants got the ball back with 1:43 to play but New York failed to cross midfield and turned the ball over on downs.

The Giants finished in third place in the NFC East for the third consecutive season.

The Giants finished 2-4 in NFC East games.

The Giants finished 3-5 at home and on the road for the second straight season.

The Giants are 25-23 in regular-season games at MetLife Stadium.

The Giants scored 420 points this season, the fifth-highest total in franchise history, and the sixth time they topped 400 points – five them under Head Coach Tom Coughlin.

The Giants allowed 442 points, the second-highest total in franchise history (501 in 1966).

The Eagles converted 10-of-13 third down opportunities, a 77 percent success rate that was the highest by a Giants opponent since 1970.

Quarterback Eli Manning started his 183rd consecutive game under Coughlin, the longest such streak by a quarterback/coach combination in NFL history.

Manning’s 24 completions increased his career total to 3,695. That moved him past Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Giant Fran Tarkenton (3,686) and into 10th place on the NFL’s career list.

Manning threw 618 passes this season, breaking the franchise record of 601 he set in 2014.

Manning’s 387 completions are also a franchise record. He set the former mark of 379 last season.

Manning finished with 4,436 yards, the second-highest total in franchise history. Manning passed for 4,410 yards a year ago; he owns the franchise record with 4,933 in 2011.

Manning’s two touchdown passes increased his career single season-high total to 35 – one less than Y.A. Tittle’s team record, set in 1963.

Manning’s 93.6 passer rating is a career-high.

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. caught five passes for 54 yards and set an NFL record for most receiving yards by a player in the first two seasons of a career.

Beckham finished the season with 96 receptions for 1,450 yards, both the second-highest totals in Giants history. Steve Smith holds the receptions record with 107 in 2009, and Victor Cruz owns the yardage mark with 1,536 in 2011. Beckham did not score against the Eagles and his 13 touchdowns leaves him tied with Homer Jones (1967) for the single-season record.

Shane Vereen caught six passes to increase his season total to 59, the most receptions in a single season by a Giants running back not named Tiki Barber – who had seasons with 72, 70, 69, 69 and 66 catches.

Running back Rashad Jennings finished the season with a career-high 863 yards, the highest total by a Giants back since Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 1,015 yards in 2012. Jennings’ previous career best was 733 yards with Oakland in 2013.

Place kicker Josh Brown kicked three field goals and three extra points to raise his scoring total to a career single season-high 134 points. His previous best was 127 points with Seattle in 2007. Brown increased his three-year total with the Giants to 350 points. That moved him past Raul Allegre (340) and Amani Toomer (348) and into ninth place on the franchise’s career list.

Brown made 30-of-32 field goal attempts this season, a franchise-record 93.8 percent success rate. Brown topped his own record of 92.3 percent (24-of-26), set last season.

Defensive end Robert Ayers had the Giants’ only sack of Sam Bradford, increasing his team-leading and career-high total to 9.5. No other Giants player had more than 3.0 sacks.

The Giants defense had 23 sacks this season, its lowest total in a 16-game season. The previous low was 25 in 1992.

Punter Brad Wing dropped three punts inside the 20, giving him 33 such kicks for the season, which tied the team record set by Brad Maynard in 1997 and 1998.

Game Preview: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants, January 3, 2016

THE STORYLINE:
This is the end of yet another utterly miserable and meaningless season. The Giants remained relevant until early December only because of the crappy state of the rest of the division. Despite four heart-breaking, late 4th quarter losses, at 5-5, the team was in complete control of its fate heading into a decisive game against the Washington Redskins on November 29th. Eli Manning vs. Kirk Cousins. Nevertheless, the Redskins took a commanding 20-0 lead and held on for a victory that would propel them to a division title. The game was reminiscent of key divisional failures against the Redskins (December 2012) and Cowboys (November 2013). Once at 5-4, the Giants lost five of six games with their playoff hopes very much alive. Atrocious defense, an inconsistent running game, red zone failures, untimely special teams breakdowns, questionable game management decisions led to a season of agony as the Giants lost seven games by six points or less.

This Giants-Eagles regular-season finale has a very eerie feel to it. Chip Kelly has already been fired. Tom Coughlin may “retire” immediately after the game. No one knows how the players on either team will respond. How they do will probably decide the outcome. Because of that, a win or loss here is virtually insignificant (see the Giants 42-7 beat down of the Eagles in Andy Reid’s last game in December 2012…the only Giants home victory against the Eagles in the last eight years).

What did the Giants accomplish in 2015? Aside from stat padding by Eli Manning and Odell Beckham, not much. And even Beckham managed to tarnish what had been his stellar popular image. Four consecutive non-playoff seasons. Three consecutive losing seasons. Dead-last defense. Horrible 4th quarter collapses. Two blowouts. Over 20 players on Injured Reserve. Let’s just get this thing over and get the few cornerstone players on the team out of the game healthy.

THE INJURY REPORT:

WR Dwayne Harris (back/shoulder – questionable)

RT Marshall Newhouse (concussion – out)

DE Jason Pierre-Paul (ankle – questionable)

S Craig Dahl (concussion – out)

S Cooper Taylor (concussion – out)

NEW YORK GIANTS ON OFFENSE:
Moving forward, the Giants are obviously in better shape personnel-wise on the offensive side of the ball. Despite turning 35 on Sunday, Eli Manning is playing some of his best football and shows no signs of slowing down. Odell Beckham is one of the game’s true impact players. The offensive line has three good players to build around. Will Tye has flashed as a respectable #2 tight end at the very least. Shane Vereen is one of the game’s better third down backs. But the Giants still need a lot of help here. Can (or should) the Giants count on high-priced, injury-prone Victor Cruz, Will Beatty, and Geoff Schwartz next season or move on? If the Giants prefer Flowers at left tackle, Beatty is probably gone regardless. Cruz may never be the same player again. And aside from Beckham, the cupboard is pretty bare at wide receiver as Rueben Randle has proven to be a coach killer. The Hakeem Nicks encore was downright ugly. Dwayne Harris is a #3/#4 type. Wide receiver is a huge need on this team. So is offensive line unless Schwartz rebounds in big way and Bobby Hart turns out to be a surprise. Hart will start on Sunday against the Eagles and he may be the most important player to watch in this game. Even if Tye develops into a player, the Giants need more help at tight end as Larry Donnell regressed. While Rashad Jennings is capable at running back, he’s nothing special. Andre Williams was a huge disappointment in this system.

The Eagles’ front usually gives the Giants more problems than any other opponent. Will Flowers, Pugh, Richburg, Jerry, and Hart put on their big boy pants or skirts on Sunday?

NEW YORK GIANTS ON DEFENSE:
32nd in defense. 419.3 yards per game allowed. Almost 6,300 yards allowed. The Giants have given up over 6,000 yards four times in their history. And those four years were 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015. The defense is an absolute train wreck and it has been for years. It’s not all due to the changing state of the game.

The Giants are facing an absolute defensive rebuild. Because of that, now would be an opportune time to switch to a 3-4 defense if they choose to do so. Despite a shaky rookie season, the coaches are optimistic about safety Landon Collins. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie dropped two potentially game-altering interceptions but otherwise had a very strong season. Despite a disappointing season before he ended up on Injured Reserve, Johnathan Hankins is a versatile talent who can play in any system. Everyone else is a question mark. Depending on their salary demands, it may be wise to let former 1st rounders Jason Pierre-Paul and Prince Amukamara walk. JPP is permanently-damaged goods who may not respond well to a big contract. Prince is an injury-prone player who likely wants to be paid like a top corner but isn’t one. Jay Bromley probably sticks around at least one more year but all of the other defensive tackles are disposable. Defensive end Robert Ayers has flashed but he hasn’t proven to be a very tough player and is also a free agent. Defensive end, linebacker, and safety are an utter mess. Depending on if Amukamara returns, corner might be as well. There are players starting on the Giants’ defense that would struggle to make Practice Squads on other teams. There is no way the Giants can fix this unit in one offseason.

The Eagles are Jekyll and Hyde on offense depending on the play of their quarterback and offensive line at a given moment or game. Again, the Giants seem to bring out the best in them.

NEW YORK GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
The special teams played much better this year but still had untimely breakdowns that contributed to painful losses. There were big punt returns by the Saints, Patriots, and Panthers. Josh Brown had his second very strong season, but for the second year in a row picked a bad time to miss his first kick, leading to losses (Jaguars in 2014 and Jets in 2015). Dwayne Harris did return a kickoff and punt for touchdowns. Brad Wing was a nice pick-up.

The Eagles’ special teams are outstanding and were a big factor in the team’s upset victory over the Patriots. Darren Sproles has two punt returns for touchdowns this year. Last year in the Meadowlands, the Eagles blocked a punt for a touchdown, a play that turned the game.

FROM THE COACH’S MOUTH:Tom Coughlin on his future with the Giants: “Do I want to come back? I don’t know if that’s a great question right now. What I want to do is win a game on Sunday, that’s the bottom line for this group right now. I always have the competitive spirit. Sometimes it takes me a day or two to figure it all out when it’s over. Right now, let’s stick with the game and let’s go win a football game.”

THE FINAL WORD:
The closest season to this one that I can recall was BBI’s first season in 1995. That year, the Giants lost seven games that were decided on the final drive of the game. In six of those games, the Giants were either tied or leading at some point in the 4th quarter. Sound familiar? While the 1995 Giants had Dave Brown at quarterback, the team could run the football and play defense.

I despise the Eagles, but it may be best for the Giants to lose this game. By doing so, the Giants not only avoid a road trip to Seattle in 2016, but they could very much improve their draft position. My most important concern is to get Manning, Beckham, Flowers, Pugh, Richburg, Harris, Vereen, DRC, and Collins out of this game healthy. The most important player to watch is Bobby Hart.

Philadelphia Eagles 27 – New York Giants 7

Overview

Hey, you! Get your damn hands off her! Or him, in this case our erstwhile NFC Offensive Player of the Week, Eli Manning. Finger points and weak threats, that’s pretty much all the Giants OL could use to stop a 3-hour long wedgie at the hands of the Eagles’ pass rush. It all started so well too, with the Giants marching down field to an early 7-0 lead thanks to Eli picking his spots underneath the Eagles Cover-2 and hitting Will Tye twice, Rueben Randle once and Larry Donnell once for first downs before dropping in a slant to Odell Beckham Jr. and an air of excitement against a team that has simply dominated the Giants lately. A quick 3-and-out forced by the injury-riddled Giants defense led to Eli and crew marching down to the Eagle 23-yard line and a quick two score lead..until TE Larry Donnell had a pass ripped from his arms. No matter, Steve Spaguolo’s troops were ready yet again, with back-to-back pass breakups by DE Kerry Wynn and S Brandon Meriweather and another 3-and-out…until DE Damontre Moore inexplicably pulled a belly-to-belly to suplex on QB Sam Bradford giving the Eagles 15 yards and a new set of downs. Just plays later the same Meriweather who looked so steady early on was beaten deep by WR Riley Cooper and the game was knotted at 7. At this point I’d like to jump into my DeLorean and hit 88MPH and never look down on this affair again but I’m a giver so let’s see where this all went from 1.21 jigowatts to a 3-3 record and the familiar feeling of, maybe we’re just not that good yet.

From that 7-7 tie, the Giants turned the ball over on downs, threw an interception returned for a TD (Exasperated Author’s Note: I just won’t use that term, I’m sick of it, along with “beast”, “hater” and any form of clever word play like Belicheat, Cowgirls, She-Gals, Foreskins…you get the point), fumbled the ball away, then proceeded to use punter Brad Wing as their own personal hand puppet as the offense just stunk the rest of the night. The Eagles on the other hand, weren’t great, they avoided a 14-0 hole when Donnell couldn’t hang on to the ball, were handed a TD drive on a platter by Damontre Moore, and a FG on a drive extended by a late hit by DT Cullen Jenkins. The teams combined for 5 Interceptions and 5 fumbles on a night both QBs wish they could have back. The difference for the Eagles though, is that a bad QB night is not a death knell as it is for the Giants. With the ability to rush the passer and move the ball on the ground, two former Coughlin staples, the Eagles can win ugly games with Sam Bradford stinking it up. With no running game to speak of (not once has this ground game reached 100 yards in 2015), if Eli isn’t Superman this team is dead in the water.

It works! It works! I finally invent something that works! Well for one and a half drives anyway, OC Ben McAdoo had invented something that worked for his QB and offense, an efficient quick strike offense that ate up the hook zones and medium middle en route to an 8-play, 80-yard drive that staked the Giants to a promising 7-0 lead. Manning was 5-of-5 for 59 yards and a TD on the game’s opening salvo, working the middle of the field with ease and at one point was 10-of-10 before Larry Donnell had the ball wrestled from his mitts. Somehow that game plan was tossed out after TE Larry Donnell’s catch-turned-interception and Eli was under siege Steven Segal-style all night. Manning made one crucial mistake on an interception-turned-TD deep inside the Giants’ own territory, but testing a fast defense on the edges instead of sticking with what was working is squarely on the play caller there. Had WR Rueben Randle not slipped on his pick attempt, the ball probably finds WR Dwayne Harris. But a play reliant on so much to go right deep in your own territory is, simply put, an awful idea. Manning did what he did could with an inconsistent running game and constant pressure from the 2nd quarter on, but he like everyone else was great for stretches and terrible in spurts.

Running Backs

Rashad Jennings started off strong (notice a trend here yet), picking up 16 yards on his first 3 carries and looking decisive and powerful doing so. Jennings gave way early to fellow backs Andre Williams and Shane Vereen and it looks like a big mistake in hindsight. Jennings finished with 63 yards on 13 carries and consistently imposed his will on smaller Eagle DBs. However, Jennings took a false step in following FB Nikita Whitlock on a 4th-and-1 inside Eagles territory and was stuffed for a loss. Had Jennings been more patient, he had plenty of room on the backside to cut inside and get the first down – poor run by #23 on that one. Jennings rebounded with a strong 8-yard run on another promising drive until he coughed up a screen pass that thwarted another potential scoring drive. Inconsistency in this group is really hampering this offense and Jennings’ night was a perfect example of how good and how bad this group has been at times. Andre Williams was dreadful, with 6 yards on 5 carries, consistently stuffed and looking tentative in the hole yet again. Former Patriot Shane Vereen was even worse, with 0 yards on 4 carries and 1 catch for 6 yards. Not good enough again from this group, and I’ll say it again, it may be time to shake things up and see if Orleans Darkwa can give this team a spark on the ground. With the double-coverage thrown at Beckham and teams guarding against the deep pass so fervently, this group simply has to step up for this offense to start to thrive against decent competition.

Rueben Randle took the first Manning pass on a quick slant for 8 yards and a first down and took a quick slant 15 yards for another in the 1st quarter, but only saw the ball 3 more times and finished with a ho hum 44 yards on 5 grabs. Mr. Hamstring, Odell Beckham, Jr., was like everyone else, perfect early on with a 13-yard dig route for a TD on the game’s opening drive. Beckham finished the first half with 61 yards on 7 grabs and a TD but did exactly nothing after halftime. A player that good simply cannot be erased in the second half, no matter what the Eagles threw at him. Myles White dropped his only opportunity and slot wideout Dwayne Harris failed to do much with 18 yards on two catches.

Tight Ends

Will Tye started off like everyone else, hauling in an early first down pass on a waggle play across the Eagles defense for a 17-yard gain and pulled down a 5-yard pass on 2nd-and-4 two plays later for his second first down and then…poof, he was gone. Tye has been forced into action from the Practice Squad following Daniel Fells’ unfortunate MRSA incident and showed up pretty well so far. He just needs more opportunities as evidenced by his early impact in this one. Another wobbly game from Larry Donnell, who one week ago was the hero against the 49ers in a thrilling last-minute victory. Again, great start for the former Grambling QB as he snatched a short middle pass from Manning on a 2nd-and-4 on the game’s opening drive and rumbled 16 yards for the conversion. The game turned on Donnell’s catch-turned-interception at the Eagle 22. After that miscue, Donnell only caught one more ball and simply disappeared. Donnell had a chance to redeem himself on 2nd-and-1 late in the 1st quarter, but he dropped a perfectly-placed ball by Manning inside the ten. This ended up killing any momentum the drive had.

Offensive Line

As with everyone else, good start with an 80-yard scoring drive, paving the way for 16 yards on 3 carries and a clean pocket for Eli to operate in. “I like this offensive line,” stammered Jon Gruden as the game began and he seemed right early on but the effusive praise would prove wrong, because this OL stumbled after the first two series and simply got man-handled up front by a quick, physical Eagle DL. Quick hitters were the balm early, but as the game wore on, the 5 up front just weren’t up to the task. RT Marshall Newhouse was out-fought all night by Connor Barwin and LG Justin Pugh had tons of trouble inside with DT Bennie Logan, killing most runs before they got started. RG Geoff Schwartz got bull-rushed by DL Vinny Curry that resulted in a sack on 3rd down on another failed drive. If there’s a positive here, and this season will test all of us to find those from time to time, it was the exceptional leadership shown by LT Ereck Flowers, the 21-year old rookie who took it upon himself to rally the troops on the sideline. This picture may not be worth 1,000 words, but superstars Odell Beckham Jr. and two-time Super Bowl MVP and team leader Eli Manning are intently listening to the rookie as he pulled his offensive teammates together. If the final tally depresses you, just look to the future of this line and offense in the towering new LT and you’ll find a little hope.

Defensive Line

Broken record alert, the Giants DL started off strong and faded as the evening wore on. DE Kerry Wynn got an early batted ball on the Eagles’ second drive and the front four looked off to the races until Moore’s incredibly stupid late hit on Sam Bradford. That play, which extended the Eagles’ first TD drive after it had been snuffed out in 3 plays, was another game-changer when it appeared the defense had bailed out Larry Donnell. Moore later chipped in with a sack and fumble recovery, another perfect example of the Giants’ night, brilliant one moment, bone-headed the next. DT Cullen Jenkins got involved early, batting down a 3rd down pass from Bradford and forcing a punt, but it was Jenkins’ touch late hit that extended another Eagles’ drive. Another Giant mistake, another Eagle opportunity. The DL had an issue holding the edge, something this front 7 was excelling at before this game. Using an extra TE to down block negated DEs Owa Odighizuwa and Kerry Wynn on several runs. Wynn and Odighizuwa simply need to get wider and hold the point-of-attack better on those plays.

Linebackers

I could almost hear the Bubble Boy taunting our LBs. “How you feeling now Constanza?…Not too good!” Not too good indeed Double B. This group was eaten up by a quick, aggressive running game that slowly but surely imposed its will on the Giants’ middle defenders. Uani ‘Unga led the group with 7 stops, but his MLB counterpart Jon Beason was consistently cut down and erased from the running game. Again, credit the Eagles’ offense here. They recognized that Beason hasn’t been attacking the hole as we pointed out in previous weeks and strung their plays out wide to give their OL time to get the second level and eliminate #52 from making a difference. Discussing who isn’t available seems silly but this group is much much better when Devon Kennard is healthy and able to impose his will in the running game. Jonathan Casillas gave up a gap on the game-sealing TD and looks to be better suited to coverage than run stuffing.

S Brandon Meriweather was confident early, knocking down WR Jordan Matthews to force an incompletion, but he missed a wide-open tackle on WR Josh Huff and followed that up immediately with a late cover on WR Riley Cooper who evened up the game at 7. Meriweather had not been exposed deep yet but credit Sam Bradford and Cooper with exploiting Meriweather’s trouble in deep coverage to tie the game. S Craig Dahl was somewhat impactful with 8 stops, one of which shut down an Eagle drive until Moore’s huge penalty. CB Jayron Hosley notched an early interception with the Giants only down 7 to give Eli and company some life before halftime. On the play, Hosley was playing bail technique, meaning he dropped deep at the snap, essentially acting as a two deep safety as S Landon Collins came down to cover a TE crossing the formation. Bradford’s overthrow fell right into #28’s mitts as Collins was in trail coverage. Credit CB Coach Tim Walton on that one – Hosley has jumped those routes in the past, giving up the deep seam, but he kept his depth, stayed patient and it paid off with a timely turnover. Hosley provided blanket coverage on Riley Cooper a few plays later on a 2nd-and-28, forcing an incompletion and a ridiculously long 3rd down. But he was victimized on a long pass to Cooper as the 2nd half opened. DRC launched himself into a stop on a WR screen but was otherwise not tested much by the Eagles’ offense. S Landon Collins notched his first interception of the year and was strong on the edge in run support, another glimmer of hope in an otherwise dismal night.

Special Teams

Never mind Jon Gruden claiming K Josh Brown hadn’t missed a kick in his recent memory (Brown indeed missed an XP in Buffalo so I assume by memory Gruden means the last 15 minutes or so), Brown was perfect on his lone extra point so he’s got that goin’ for him, which is nice. S Craig Dahl helped on specials with a strong take down of the terrifying Darren Sproles on a punt return late in the first half. P Brad Wing was forced to launch 8 times with a long of 51 and 2 punts dropped inside the 20 but did hit a horrific 27-yarder in the waning moments of the first half that led to an Eagle FG. Good coverage again this week, which is notable given that it’s the Eagles and the irritating (he’s tiny and fast, it’s unnatural) Darren Sproles. The Eagles weree held to 58 yards on 6 punt and kickoff returns.

Coaching

Head-scratching game from Ben McAdoo. The G-Men started off attacking the middle, hitting all 5 passes on the game’s opening drive underneath the Eagles’ safeties and just beyond the LBs. Rashad Jennings was in an early groove as well but gave way to Andre Williams and Shane Vereen on the second possession and never got the chance to keep it going despite running well most of the night. After shredding the Eagles over the middle, McAdoo then tested the edges of the speedy Eagles defense and he paid for it dearly. Eli’s first pick was an out route to Donnell that a drive earlier had been an in route, utilizing the 6’7” TE’s frame as a natural shield. Why you suddenly decide to try the other side of that with a speedy LB able to get to the point before your big TE is beyond me. Testing the edge again, Eli tossed a late out into the flat which CB Nolan Carroll returned for a TD and the rout from there was on. Inexcusable play call that deep in your own zone with reliance on a pick play working. Stupid, stupid football there.

DC Steve Spagnuolo’s group held up well early but eventually got no rest from a totally ineffective Giants’ offense and just got run over as the game wore on. Still without DE Robert Ayers, LB Devon Kennard and the recent loss of CB Prince Amukamara, Spags is working with a depleted group who hung in for over a half but eventually gave up 155 yards on the ground. Simply not good enough when they had to be.

Anatomy of a Run

We’ve heaped praise on DC Steve Spagnuolo and in particular, Jon Beason, Devon Kennard and Kerry Wynn for their stellar play vs. the run. This week, one play stood out as an example of why the Eagles right now are just a better team. With 6:19 left and the game still within reach, DeMarco Murray raced around right end for a 12-yard touchdown, doing something to this defense that no team had yet – dominate the edge. The Eagles ran a double TE BOSS (back-on-strong-safety) play to Murray in which his job was to beat the SS, in this case Brandon Meriweather. At first glance, this looked like a big mistake by #58, but his job in this formation is to one-gap outside the LT and cut down the angle on Murray and he does just that. LB Jonathan Casillas, however, does NOT maintain his depth and gets sucked up inside. Now his gap is empty and S Brandon Meriweather is forced to commit early instead of maintaining outside leverage. The defensive design is to turn Murray back inside, forcing him to deal with Casillas and Meriweather, with Collins holding the edge. Casillas abandons his post, forces Meriweather to commit and Murray strikes the final blow.

The Eagles come out in a double-TE set against a 4-3 over/under combination. [In the under, the S lines up on the line of scrimmage as the SAM as shown above and the DE lines up head up on the tackle. In this formation though, Owa (#58) is shaded outside the TE as you would see in a 4-3 over]. This is an ideal way to shut down the edge run.

At the snap, Owa does his job, attacking the gap outside of the tackle so his LB can slide in to fill the vacated gap (Jonathan Casillas #54). Casillas is in position, as indicated by an excellent red ellipse, but quickly loses depth and fails to maintain gap integrity.

Casillas loses his depth – a big no-no against a back with Murray’s ability to get outside – and takes himself out of position, forcing S Brandon Meriweather to commit early to cover Casillas’ vacated gap. Meriweather also took a false step inside and gave up outside leverage for a split second, isolating S Landon Collins to hold the edge versus TE Zach Ertz.

The BOSS play design works, isolating Murray on Merriweather, who already gave up his outside leverage and Murray races around Collins for the game-deciding score.

Cram it in your Cramhole Award

A good coach takes the blame and provides cover when his team stinks and this week. I’ll take the award in symbolic unifying fashion. I’m sure I deserve it for my lame thematic reviews and unprofessional writing style but I feel compelled to make a plea with all my loyal readers and more loyal detractors: Calm Down about the debacle this week. Yes we lost 27-7 to our hated I-95 rivals. Yes the offense hocked up loogie after loogy after opening the game so well. Yes we had untimely stupid penalties, turnovers to spare and didn’t capitalize on a dreadful game by Sam Bradford. This is a team coming off of two straight miserable campaigns with new starters across the entire OL, and without the services of Jason Pierre-Paul, Will Beatty, Victor Cruz, Robert Ayers, Prince Amukamara, Devon Kennard, and Daniel Fells. Castoffs like Craig Dahl, Brandon Meriweather, Marshall Newhouse and youngsters like Will Tye, Geremy Davis, Ereck Flowers, Owa Odighizuwa, Landon Collins, and Uani ‘Unga have all been pressed into action sooner than anyone anticipated.

We stand at 3-3 and likely won’t challenge for anything. But treat each game as just that, one game, especially in today’s NFL. My old ball coach once told us before a game that would see us finish the season undefeated, “I’ll never ask you to be the best team anywhere except between those four white lines when the lights go on every week.” It worked every week for 13 weeks and we believed we could win every week. Pardon the Al Bundy flashback, but consider the pace of this game. A mistake or fewer here or there and we could be sitting at 4-2, but it wasn’t to be. Right now the Eagles are simply better, but despite the score, the margin is not as wide as it was one year ago. We’re making progress and more to come. Don’t give up the ship and don’t hop into your DeLorean just yet and fast forward to the draft or anything but our next opponent…the hated Dallas Cowboys. New week, new chance to win. Let’s go boys (and girls if you are not asleep or have not thrown your laptop out the window after all these words).

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 27 – NEW YORK GIANTS 7…
The New York Giants’ woes against the Philadelphia Eagles continued on Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field as the Giants were dominated by the Eagles 27-7. With the loss, the Giants fell to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the NFC East.

The game started out well for the Giants and then went downhill after that. New York received the ball to start the game and drove 80 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Quarterback Eli Manning finished the possession with a 13-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Odell Beckham.

The Eagles went three-and-out and the Giants had a chance to put Philadelphia in a bigger hole by driving from their own 37-yard line to the Eagles’ 23-yard line. But on 1st-and-10, Manning’s pass to tight end Larry Donnell was ripped away from Donnell for an interception at the Eagles’ 22-yard line. Then the Giants had a chance to force another three-and-out, but defensive end Damontre Moore was flagged with roughing-the-passer after a 3-yard completion on 3rd-and-10 should have resulted in a punt. Given a reprieve, the Eagles would go on to tie the game on this possession by driving 78 yards in seven plays, culminating with a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Bradford to wide receiver Riley Cooper.

New York moved the ball once again on their third drive, reaching the Eagles’ 41-yard line, but the Giants could not pick up a first down on three successive tries after facing a 2nd-and-1. On 4th-and-1, running back Rashad Jennings lost two yards and the Eagles took over on downs.

The Giants’ defense held and the Eagles punted. However, Philadelphia went up 14-7 when Manning’s pass intended for wide receiver Dwayne Harris was intercepted by cornerback Nolan Carroll and returned 17 yards for a touchdown.

The Giants’ fifth possession ended at the Eagles’ 38-yard line when Jennings fumbled the ball away after catching a pass. Thus, after the fast start to begin the game, the Giants next four drives ended with three turnovers and a turnover on downs. The Giants had come into the game with only three turnovers on the season. Manning, who started the game 10-of-10 for 87 yards was just 14-of-28 for 102 yards the rest of the game. Manning was not helped by very shaky pass protection that gave up three sacks and multiple hits and pass pressure.

The Giants’ defense kept the team in the game for a while. The Giants got the ball right back after Jennings’ fumble when cornerback Jayron Hosley picked off Bradford at the Giants’ 25-yard line and returned the ball 17 yards. But the Giants went three-and-out after Manning was sacked on 3rd-and-7. The Eagles and Giants then each exchanged punts twice. With 1:12 left before intermission, Philadelphia drove 47 yards in eight plays to set up a successful 37-yard field goal. At the half, the Eagles led 17-7.

The Eagles received the ball to start the third quarter and drove to the New York 31-yard line. But on 3rd-and-8, linebacker Uani ‘Unga forced wide receiver Jordan Matthews to fumble which Moore recovered. The Giants picked up one first down, but Manning was sacked again on 3rd-and-10 and the Giants punted.

The Eagles then took a commanding lead by driving 85 yards in 11 plays with running back DeMarco Murray scoring from 12 yards out. This possession was kept alive when defensive tackle/fullback Nikita Whitlock ran into the punter on 4th-and-2 from the Eagles’ 23-yard line.

The Giants went three-and-out on their next three possessions. New York only had one first down in the second half until late in the game. Bradford threw two more interceptions on Philadelphia’s next two possessions, one by safety Brandon Meriweather and the other by safety Landon Collins. The Eagles did manage one last scoring drive in the fourth quarter, kicking a 39-yard field goal after a 10-play, 40-yard possession. But the game was all but over at that point.

Offensively, the Giants were held to 18 first downs and just 247 total net yards (81 yards rushing, 166 yards passing). The team turned the football over three times (two interceptions, one fumble), was 4-of-13 (31 percent) on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down. Manning was 24-of-38 for 189 yards. Beckham caught seven passes for 63 yards and a touchdown but was shut out in the second half. Jennings carried the ball 13 times for 63 yards while Andre Williams and Shane Vereen rushed nine times for a total of six yards. Manning was sacked times times and officially hit seven other times.

Defensively, the Giants allowed 24 first downs and 425 total net yards (155 yards rushing, 270 yards passing). The Eagles were 6-of-16 (38 percent) on third down. The Giants did force four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble). The Giants only managed one sack (by Moore) and three quarterback hits.

INJURY REPORT…
Linebacker Jonathan Casillas left the game in the 4th quarter with a neck injury and did not return. Safety Brandon Meriweather also sprained his knee in the 2nd quarter but he returned.

POST-GAME REACTIONS…
Video clips of post-game media sessions with Head Coach Tom Coughlin and the following players are available at Giants.com:

DANIEL FELLS UPDATE…
According to NFL.com, tight end Daniel Fells, who has been hospitalized for almost three weeks with a life-threatening MRSA infection (staph), has improved and he could be released from the hospital this week. Fells has now undergone seven surgeries with at least two more scheduled. Fells did have an infected bone removed from his foot, but it is believed that his foot will not have to be amputated. NFL.com is reporting that at one point the infection spread to his lungs, and NJ.com is reporting that the infection spread to his thigh. ESPN says that the additional surgeries are to further clean out the infected area and include plastic surgery on the areas of the foot damaged by the infection. It is believed Fells career is over due to permanent damage to the foot. “Long road ahead for him,” a source told The New York Post. “If you saw a picture of his foot, you wouldn’t believe it.”

Content Sections

Content Sections

Follow Us!

Posts By Month

Posts By Month

Part of the USA Today Sports Media Group
BigBlueInteractiveSM provides news, analysis, and discussion on the New York Football Giants. The site is owned and operated by Big Blue Interactive, LLC. If you
have any questions or comments about this website, please see our contact information page.